Integrated Air Solutions’ customised ELGi high-pressure diesel compressors provide the ideal air solution for key customer, Smith Capital’s locally manufactured pole hole drill rigs.

Founded in the 1970’s, and offering market leading post and pole-hole, reverse circulation and water well drilling rigs Smith Capital also proudly holds the position as the only company in Africa that designs, fabricates and supports a full range of aerial platforms. “We are the leaders in aerial platform technology and are one of the largest supplier of this product, comments Smith Capital’s Chairman, Mr. Sipho Mdanda.

“With 40 years of experience, we have played an integral part in South African industry supplying our new and innovative technology solutions to the utility, municipal and mining sectors.” This pioneering majority black women-owned company is ISO 9001:2008 accredited and has earned a sterling reputation for its committed and reliable after-sales service which includes repairs, maintenance, inspection and load testing.

Experts in drill rig design, Smith Capital is contracted by South Africa’s power utility to supply its contractors with drill rigs to take care of a variety of contracting work such as erecting new power lines and maintaining existing lines.

Smith Capital’s ground-breaking ‘Single H’ 6x4 drill rig is specifically designed and manufactured in accordance with the power utility’s specifications and present the perfect drilling solution for the power utility’s contract work; the drill rigs are required to be compact and exceptionally rugged as they travel far distances traversing rough terrain whilst operating in extreme climates. Often operating in remote areas, contractors cannot afford to have reliability issues as there are substantial cost implications around prolonged downtime and repairs.

Providing essential air supply to the drill rigs for DTH (down-the-hole) and auger drilling, the on-board ELGi compressor must also adhere to all necessary specifications. “And it does,” says Graham Russell, Managing Director of Integrated Air Solutions. “As the only company in South Africa with the unique ability to customise our compressors under OEM warranty, Integrated Air Solutions remains the unrivalled market leader when it comes to providing individually tailored and engineered high-pressure compressor packages. We are therefore perfectly positioned to provide an optimum air solution for Smith Capital with our turnkey compressor package which exceeds expectations for compaction, ruggedness and reliability whilst complying with local power utility’s safety standards.”

“Thanks to our customisation expertise, the compressor perfectly fits Smith Capital’s rigs and meets the legal commercial vehicle width of 2.6m in accordance with the Road Ordinance Act,” explains Russell. Modifications including the repositioning of components such as the oil cooler, radiator, separator tank and air filters, significantly shrink the compressor’s original area space - the compressor is 1762mm shorter, 337mm narrower and also 166kgs lighter. Smith Capital is responsible for the installation of the compressor package onto each rig in their Germiston facility.

Integrated Air Solutions, a GiGi Investments Company, boasts decades of experience with the ELGi brand and holds the title of exclusive regional distributor of this world-leading compressor range. ELGi is a leading global air compressor manufacturer, renowned for designing sustainable solutions that contribute to increased uptime and lowest total cost of ownership whilst supporting end-users in achieving their productivity goals.

Every component on ELGi air compressors - from the proprietary air end to leak-free hoses and piping - is of superior quality which is the result of excellence in engineering, design and the use of ‘uptime’ parts. Successfully withstanding over 25 years of gruelling tests in Southern Africa’s harsh climate, ELGi air compressors have solidified their suitability to compressor applications across the region.

Reliable, value adding features such as hassle-free service and maintenance contribute to ELGi compressors being the preference globally for drill rig OEMs.

“We are proud of our twelve-year business relationship with Smith Capital and we remain committed to providing turnkey compressor solutions, meeting lead times and ensuring that parts and spares are always readily available. Our highly-trained specialists are on standby to provide professional advice and expert support to our valued customer,” concludes Russell.